San Joaquin Valley – Tulare Lake
Statistics
- Basin Name
- San Joaquin Valley – Tulare Lake
- Basin Number
- 5-022.12
- SGMA Basin Priority
- High
- Critically Overdrafted
- Yes
- Hydrologic Region Name
- Tulare Lake
- Counties
- Kings
Basin Notes
2003: Bulletin 118 basin description
2014: CASGEM basin prioritization – High
2016: Basin boundary modifications, Kaweah 5-022.11, Pleasant Valley 5-022.10, Tule Subbasin 5-022.13 Revised basin boundary description
2018: Final Basin Prioritization – High
2020: January 29 – Joint GSP from El Rico GSA, South Forks GSA, Tri-County Water Authority GSA, Mid-Kings River GSA, Southwest Kings GSA filed with DWR
2021: December – DWR notifies collective GSAs that the GSP has deficiencies.
2022: January 28 – DWR assesses Tulare Lake GSP as “incomplete” and gives the GSP until 7/27/22 to submit a revised plan
July 27: the Tulare Lake GSA submits a revised GSP
October 12 – DWR deems the GSP inadequate because the five GSAs behind the single plan did not all adapt the same plans.
2023: DWR directs Tulare Lake GSA to the State Water Resources Control Board
2024: April 16 – Tulare Lake Groundwater Subbasin placed in probationary status , a milestone for landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, California State Water Resources Control Board
May 3 – Tulare Lake Subbasin Plan Manager notified that the Subbasin has failed to file an annual report and is flouting SGMA, California Department of Water Resources
July 11 – Temporary restraining order – Kings County Farm Bureau et al v. California State Water Resources Control Board
July 16 – Kings County judge rules state overstepped by requiring farmers to meter, report groundwater extractions, SJV Water
September 13 – Kings County judge rules against Water Board in high stakes groundwater case, SJV Water
Actions related to Tulare Lake Subbasin Probationary Designation Suspended, California State Water Resources Control Board
At-A-Glance
California Water Library Documents About This Basin
The State Water Project Delivery Capability Report 2023 Addendum - Impacts of Subsidence
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | May 7th, 2025
The purpose of this addendum is to show how ongoing subsidence effects on the California Aqueduct will impact operation of the State Water Project (SWP). The addendum pro
Quantification of record-breaking subsidence in California’s San Joaquin Valley
Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | November 19th, 2024
Kings County Farm Bureau vs. California State Water Resources Control Board
Superior Court of California, County of Kings | September 12th, 2024
Temporary Restraining Order in Kings County Farm Bureau et al v. California State Water Resources Control Board
Superior Court of California, County of Kings | July 11th, 2024
Drought, water management, and agricultural livelihoods: Understanding human-ecological system management and livelihood strategies of farmer’s in rural California
Elsevier | July 11th, 2024
Replenishing Groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley: 2024 Update
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | June 6th, 2024
Strategies to replenish groundwater basins—long used in some areas of the San Joaquin Valley—have increasingly come into focus as the region seeks to bring its overd
Status of Water Quality in Groundwater Resources Used for Drinking-Water Supply in the Southeastern San Joaquin Valley, 2013–15: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | April 25th, 2024
The California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) investigated water quality of groundwater resources used for drinki
Tulare Lake Subbasin Probationary Hearing Final Staff Report
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)nia | March 29th, 2024
State Water Board staff have identified specific deficiencies in the Tulare Lake Subbasin 2022 GSP and have outlined potential corrective actions to address those specifi
Tulare Lake Fact Sheet
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | October 12th, 2023
Tulare Lake Subbasin Probationary Hearing Draft Report
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | October 12th, 2023
The State Water Board recognizes that significant efforts were made by local public agencies in the Tulare Lake Subbasin since the passage of SGMA to form groundwater sus
Tulare Lake Subbasin Probationary Hearing Draft Staff Report, Appendix A Summary Table of Proposed Deficiencies and Potential Actions to Address Deficiencies
California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | October 12th, 2023
Click here to see the main related draft report.
A simmering revolt against groundwater cutbacks in California
Stanford University | December 14th, 2022
In 2014, California legislators, focused on groundwater’s accelerating decline during a prolonged drought, passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Its impera
Modeling the dynamic penetration depth of post-1950s water in unconfined aquifers using environmental tracers: Central Valley, California
Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier) | December 5th, 2022
The penetration depth of post-1950s recharge (D-1950) in aquifers is a marker that is frequently used to identify groundwater that is susceptible to anthropogenic contami
Modern groundwater reaches deeper depths in heavily pumped aquifer systems
Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | September 7th, 2022
Deep groundwater is an important source of drinking water, and can be preferable to shallower groundwaters where they are polluted by surface-borne contaminants. Surface-
Tulare Lake Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan -- Amended
Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency | July 26th, 2022
The Tulare Lake Subbasin submitted a single GSP in January 2020 to the Department of Water Resources (DWR). DWR was required to determine whether the GSP conformed to the
Using Sentinel‐1 and GRACE satellite data to monitor the hydrological variations within the Tulare Basin, California
Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | March 9th, 2022
Subsidence induced by groundwater depletion is a grave problem in many regions around the world, leading to a permanent loss of groundwater storage within an aquifer and
Statement of Findings regarding the Determination of Incomplete Status of the San Joaquin Valley – Tulare Lake Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 28th, 2022
The Department of Water Resources (Department) is required to evaluate whether a submitted groundwater sustainability plan (GSP or Plan) conforms to specific requirements
Post-Drought Groundwater Storage Recovery in California's Central Valley
American Geophysical Union (AGU) | October 5th, 2021
California's Central Valley has experienced chronic groundwater depletion over the past few decades, the rate of which was amplified by droughts in 2007–2009 and 2012?
Critical Aquifer Overdraft Accelerates Degradation of Groundwater Quality in California's Central Valley During Drought
American Geophysical Union (AGU) | September 1st, 2021
It has been established that wells are at risk to run dry when groundwater levels decline during drought, but associated impacts to water quality are poorly understood.
Identification of Bacteria in Groundwater Used for Domestic Supply in the Southeast San Joaquin Valley, California, 2014
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | June 22nd, 2021
Groundwater is an important source of drinking water in California. Water-borne diseases caused by microbial contamination are a growing concern. The MI test, a membrane